Message from the Judge In Charge
Honorable Melissa Copeland
Part 2
The goal of the Criminal Division is to provide fair, efficient, and effective justice for all.
The Criminal Division is comprised of a Felony Reception Court, a Misdemeanor Reception Court, an adult Drug Treatment Court, and a Mental Health Court.
The Judge in Charge of Criminal presides over the Felony/Misdemeanor Reception Courts and handles pre-trial conferences, guilty pleas, postponement requests, and assigns cases to judges for trial. Initial appearances for unrepresented defendants are held in the morning.
The Misdemeanor Reception Court cases are, at times, assigned to a trial court for resolution by guilty plea, nolle prosequi, stet, or trial at 9:00 a.m. daily.
Bail review hearings are conducted remotely via Zoom for Government at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday and Friday. Bail review hearings for FTA’s and TBA’s are conducted at 1:30 p.m. daily.
The adult Drug Treatment Court is a sanction-based program that provides judicial-supervised treatment to offenders with substance abuse dependencies. The offender is recommended to participate in the program by the Court, the Assistant State’s Attorney, and his/her defense attorney.
The Mental Health Court is a judicially supervised treatment court that oversees offenders charged with low-level criminal offenses who have been diagnosed with serious mental illness. The participants are identified through mental health screening and assessments. The overarching goal of the court is to provide its participants with treatment and support services to lower the recidivism of this population
Maryland Rules 21-101, et. seq authorize Circuit Courts to conduct remote electronic proceedings. Felony Reception Court allows participants to join the proceeding by means of remote electronic communications, unless directed otherwise.
To promote the fair and effective administration of justice when holding court proceedings remotely, the Maryland Judiciary has established guidelines for the utilization of remote hearings.
